Saturday, October 9, 2010

Your Choice

What will it be? An investigative paper or a primitive skill? Explain your proposal in this entry. Provide as much detail as possible. Elaborate on your choice. Why? Out of ease or out of curiosity? Evaluate your decision, reflect, pontificate, meditate on why you do what you do.

9 comments:

I would like to write an investigative paper on Chapel, and why it's required. There is alot of controversy surrounding the concept of Chapel, Brooks defines itself as a non-denominational institution, yet in Chapel we pray and Christianity is openly represented as the definitive faith. We are forced to take theology our sophomore year at Brooks, a course that is designed to delve into a broad range of religions and faiths; yet we spend the entire second semester talking about the bible...I think that religion in our schools is really interesting topic because it involves so many different perspectives on the issue. Ranging from people who are strongly opposed, to people who are indifferent, to people who strongly support it. Architecturally the building is far to small to fit everyone inside, so why is Brooks forcing something that might not fit for everyone. I don't think that chapel should be required, because I don't think religion should be enforced. I think it would be really interesting to see how many of the people in our student body actually support chapel, and how many don't.

I would love to lear how to start a fire without any matches using just what was available to me in the forest. I would start with nothing, and have to gather everything that was needed to make a fire, from tinder, to logs, to the ignition source. Not only would this be a really neat skill to have in the tool bag, it could potentially life saving. Also, I think that we all fantasize over or innate ability to survive in the woods without any training at all, so proving to myself that it indeed takes some practice to start something as small as a fire would be a nice wake up call to my ego. The one obstacle that I see in doing this is the weather. If there is snow on the ground when it comes time to present out skill, gathering all the necessary dry tinder and timber would be a bit harder. I feel that I would end up better for it though. If i could start a fire in a New England forest during the winter, I feel as if I would be be prepared to start one anytime this side of a in the middle of a monsoon.

I will be choosing to write an investigative paper on the topic of having Saturday classes. Many people here at Brooks feel as if we shouldn't have them, that they are unnecessary and impose on our necessary time of rest and relaxation. It is very difficult for us teenagers to keep our attention during the five day week alone, and adding the extra classes on Saturday, a day people are used to having as a day of rest, only adds to our fatigue and stress. The schedule we endure at Brooks is a rigorous one I really feel that being teenagers we need a sufficient amount of rest. In addition, in the reality of things, most students only have a couple classes, which only adds to student's distraction and lack of motive on days when they are used to it being a weekend.

For a primitive skill, I think it would be good to learn how to start a fire without matches, and then use that fire and stones to cook/boil something. It is a helpful skill to learn in case you just happen to be lost in the wilderness and you don't have any contact with the outside world. You need to know how to not only find food, but cook it so that you don't get sick. I don't think I would be able to find my own food given the limited amount of time and land, and I am sure there are legal matters with killing the local animals, but knowing how to is a lot better than having no idea. An alternative to hunting my own animals and then cooking them would to just simply boil water, just so that I would know that I could do it.

For my project, I will be choosing to answer 10-15 in depth questions about the environment at Brooks. I think this is important because it will make me much more aware of my surroundings. Questions like "where does your garbage go?" or "how many creeks are in walking distance of your shelter and what are they called?" are things people don't even take into consideration here. Some of these questions, such as, "where is your food grown", will require many different sources and interviews. I think, however, I will come out of this project as a much more aware and mindful person.

I have chosen to do a investigative paper. I have come to the conclusion that active enforcement of the "no hat" rule needs to cease to exist. Is it not enough that us males be required to wear a coat and tie? Shouldn't some leniency be allowed? I say, as long as we don't wear them IN class, then in the hallways should be perfectly acceptable. I'd like to talk a few of the diehard faculty members who believe that hats are the work of the devil and should be cast to the furnace. For those who believe it is a sign of disrespect, i totally disagree. I believe it is a sign of expression--a concept that should be fostered and embellished in an institution such as Brooks. My goal by the end of this year is to single handedly change the dress code policy and induct the use of hatwear.

I have decided to learn a primitive skill for a number of reasons. I am interested in this because i want to know the respective challenges of living outdoors. My goal is to put my self in this scenario: I am stranded at Brooks school there is no one around for miles and I have no way of buying or eating regularly produced food from a farm or store. I want to be able to learn how I could feed myself and survive relying solely on the resources at hand. I plan to look at New England plant books and learn about edible plants in our area, specifically on our campus. I am very curious about this topic not only because I have no idea what the brooks campus has to offer for resources but it would also be an excellent skill to learn if I was ever caught in a sticky situation like this. I hope this I can find enough edible to create a guide for some who wants to live off the land in New England.

I would like to do an investigative piece on the woods/lake at Brooks. My writings would be centered on a very informal poll of people's initial thoughts or reactions when hearing, or seeing a student go down to the lake. Though the poll will be very informal, I believe that I could reach a wide range of faculty, administration, and students at Brooks which would undoubtedly enhance both the accuracy, but more importantly the overall feeling held by the Brooks community towards students who spend time down by the shores of Lake Cochichewick. Another element of the lake/woods at Brooks i would like to delve into in my piece would be a bit of psychoanalysis of the human mind and how we view the mysterious unknown of the forest. Though the woods and the lake both embody natural phenomenon that sponsor some of the most wildlife, there is a human tendency amongst the human race, I believe, that fears the woods/lake and seeks to tame it and use the resources of these two sites for the benefit of our race.

For my project, I am answering questions that pertain to the basic environmental perception of the Brooks campus. I think this "where are you?" quiz will be incredibly rewarding because I will uncover a lot of material that I simply don't think about on a day-to-day basis at Brooks. I will have to delve into my resources and interview the amazing people that keep this place running. Questions like, "From where you are reading this point north. And, Were the stars out last night?" Can point out incredibly basic things that we neglect to include in our daily routine. This survey will cause me to slow down and take in the environment around me, something I don't get to do enough. I am really looking forward to learning more about our beautiful campus and the little details that most people will never experience during their time at Brooks.